Graham's last-second field goal lifts Saints past Eagles 26-24

PHILADELPHIA - The New Orleans Saints looked up at the scoreboard as they walked off the field at halftime and couldn't believe - and certainly didn't like - what they saw.

"But we knew the second half would be different. We knew the second half would be better," Saints linebacker Junior Galette said after New Orleans rallied to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 26-24 on Saturday night in an NFC wild-card playoff game at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Saints' Shayne Graham kicked a 32-yard field goal on the final play of the game to give New Orleans its first road playoff victory in franchise history. It also sends the Saints to the second round of the playoffs next weekend, where they'll hit the road again to play the Seattle Seahawks.

The Saints-Eagles game was billed as a showdown between two of the most explosive offenses in the NFL, but the Eagles led by just 7-6 at halftime. And the Saints came out after intermission ready to play on both sides of the ball.

"That was our message at halftime - there's no way we were going to leave this place without winning the game," Saints coach Sean Payton said.

The Eagles took the second half kickoff and quarterback Nick Foles was flagged for intentional grounding and then sacked by end Akiem Hicks, forcing the Eagles to punt the ball away.

The Saints took over on their own 47 and quickly moved in for a go-ahead touchdown, when quarterback Drew Brees found wide receiver Lance Moore wide open over the middle for a 24-yard touchdown and a 13-7 lead.

"That's what we needed to get things rolling," Saints running back Mark Ingram said. "We know what we can do on offense and we really had stopped ourselves in the first half more than them stopping us."

The Eagles felt the same way at halftime.

"We had a bunch of opportunities in the first half that we didn't take advantage of," Eagles wide receiver Jason Avant said. "In this league, and especially in the playoffs, you have to take advantage of every opportunity you have and we didn't do that. We got it going (in the second half), but it was just too late."

After Moore's TD, the Eagles' offense went three-and-out and the Saints marched in again, keyed by a 14-yard pass from Brees to wide receiver Kenny Stills on third-and-12. Ingram bulldozed in from the 4 to give the Saints a 20-7 lead with 3:54 left in the third quarter.

The Eagles closed the gap at the end of the quarter, thanks to a 40-yard reception by wide receiver DeSean Jackson, his first catch of the game. That put the ball on the Saints 9, and LeSean McCoy carried it in from the 1 to cut the Saints' lead to 20-14 with 32 seconds left in the period.

"We felt pretty good then because we were finally clicking on offense and we were confident we could keep it going," Eagles center Jason Kelce said. "That's the way we needed to play in the first half, but we didn't."

A 29-yard punt return by Jackson gave the Eagles good field position on the Saints' 40, but the Eagles could only manage a 31-yard field goal by Alex Henery that made it 20-17 with 11:14 left to play.

The Saints came right back, thanks to a 40-yard reception by Robert Meachem, for a 35-yard field goal that pushed their lead back to six points, 23-17, with 8:04 left in the game.

But the Eagles stormed back again, largely because of a 40-yard penalty against Saints cornerback Corey White, who was flagged for interference against DeSean Jackson on the New Orleans 3. Two plays later, Foles flipped a pass to tight end Zach Ertz in the end zone and the Eagles led 24-23 with 4:54 left to play.

And that set the stage for the dramatic ending.

"As a kicker, this is what you live for, a chance to contribute to a big win like this," Graham said of his fourth and final field goal. "The guys worked so hard for this and it's a great feeling to give them the win they deserve."

NOTES: More than 600 workers removed about three tons of snow from the Lincoln Financial Field complex on Friday and Saturday. ... Mark Ingram started at running back for the Saints, replacing injured Pierre Thomas (back). ... RB LeSean McCoy is the first Eagles player to lead the league in rushing (1,607 yards) since Steve Van Buren did it in 1949 (1,146 yards in 12 games). ... Going into Saturday night, the Saints had won four of their last six playoff games, including Super Bowl XLIV. ... Eagles QB Nick Foles threw just two interceptions in 317 attempts this season, and that 0.63 percent interception rate is the third lowest in NFL history.